Sept. 1 (Bloomberg) -- An experimental eatery in east
London where dishes may include set crab milk with cauliflower,
cucumber hearts and beach herbs, is the city’s best new
restaurant, according to “Harden’s London Restaurants.”

Diners at Viajante, in Bethnal Green’s old town hall, pick
from six, nine or 12 course-menus prepared by Lisbon-born chef
Nuno Mendes, 37, whose resume includes Jean Georges in New York
and El Bulli, north of Barcelona. The 12-course option may
feature 21 plates and take 4-1/2 hours. It costs 85 pounds
($130). Viajante opened in April.

It was chosen by readers of Harden’s, which collates 85,000
reports on meals from more than 8,000 diners across the U.K. It
beat higher-profile openings such as Caprice Group’s Dean Street
Townhouse. There’s a wait of up to two months for a table for
dinner at Viajante, which seats 35 customers.

“It’s very encouraging to win an award like this,” Mendes
said in a telephone interview. “We’ve had some very good
reviews but also some very bad reviews and this is reassuring
and helps motivate and inspire the whole team. This gives us the
drive to keep going. Awards like this are amazing.”

The Wolseley again won Best for Business, followed by Coq
d’Argent, the Square and Bleeding Heart, Harden’s said today in
an e-mailed news release. Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley was
named best restaurant, followed by Le Gavroche, La Trompette and
the Ledbury. Wareing also won for best dessert: warm chocolate
moelleux, salted caramel. Chez Bruce was named Londoners’
favorite for the sixth straight year.

The runners-up for the Remy Martin VSOP Award for best-rated newcomer were Mooli’s, Manson, Kitchen W8 and Bistrot
Bruno Loubet. Last year’s winner was Murano.

“The award shows London diners’ readiness to embrace
experimental cuisines,” the publishers said. Such restaurants
have generally been outside the capital, including the Fat Duck,
in Bray, whose chef Heston Blumenthal opens a venue in London
later this year.